Not Applicable.
The present invention relates to lifting devices and, more specifically, to a platform capable of both lifting heavy objects that are needed for elevated construction and facilitating the modular construction of tall structures.
Many construction projects require the moving of materials and machinery up hundreds of feet above the ground. Some examples of projects that would require the lifting of materials are the construction of office buildings or high rise apartment complexes. Often the construction of towers or industrial smokestacks, such as concrete towers or steel towers, requires the lifting of heavy modular units to complete construction. One example of a tower that requires a lifting device for both the modular construction of the tower and for lifting heavy machinery to the top of the tower is a wind turbine tubular tower. These wind turbine tubular towers can easily reach 300 feet in height and upon completion require the lifting of a wind turbine generator and rotor blade assembly to the top of the wind turbine tubular tower.
Different methods are commonly used when either constructing towers or lifting heavy objects to great heights. Often a large industrial crane is used to facilitate these sort of construction projects. The large industrial cranes can assist in lifting the various components needed for the modular assembly of construction projects. Additionally, large industrial cranes can also place heavy machinery on the top of towers as needed.
For loads over 120,000 pounds and heights over 300 feet few cranes currently exist that can be used on public roads at a reasonable expense. Unfortunately, there are disadvantages to relying on the use of large industrial cranes in some construction situations. Depending on the terrain, it may be difficult to place the crane in a suitable operational position. In some situations, there may not be enough room to either properly position the large industrial crane or even to move the crane to the project site. Wind turbine farms are just one example of a situation in which it is difficult to use a large industrial crane. Wind turbine farms usually have many wind turbine tubular towers placed in close proximity to each other to maximize the amount of energy that can be generated by the wind turbine farm. Often the roads throughout the wind turbine farm are too small to be used by a large industrial crane in order to erect additional wind turbine tubular towers. Furthermore, the use of a large industrial crane that has suitable height and load capabilities for either the assembly or repair of wind turbine tubular towers is often overly expensive.
Wind turbine farms may be scattered over many square miles. Large industrial cranes may be transported into such farms, but often must be disassembled and reassembled over and over in order to reach each of the wind tower locations. This loses valuable time and increases the costs tremendously.
The transportation of large industrial cranes through wind turbine farms also presents problems when existing wind turbine generators or existing wind turbine tubular towers need to be repaired. Wind turbine generators and wind turbine tubular towers are often struck by lightning that can damage the wind turbine generator or rotor blades, thus necessitating the repair or replacement of the wind turbine generator and parts of the wind turbine tubular tower.
High piers or towers, such as observatory towers, also require the use of lifting devices, such as cranes, to facilitate construction. However, the use of cranes is subject to many of the drawbacks detailed above.
Another method that can be utilized to facilitate the construction of towers is to use helicopters to lift modular components during the construction of the towers. The use of helicopters, however, is expensive and is often an impractical solution once budgetary concerns are considered.
The art described in this section is not intended to constitute an admission that any patent, publication or other information referred to herein is xe2x80x9cprior artxe2x80x9d with respect to this invention, unless specifically designated as such. In addition, this section should not be construed to mean that a search has been made or that no other pertinent information as defined in 37 C.F.R. xc2xa71.56(a) exists.
The present invention provides a guide rail climbing lifting platform that overcomes the above drawbacks and provides a device that does not require as much physical space to access a project site. The guide rail climbing lifting platform is capable of supporting the tremendous weights necessary to facilitate the modular assembly of towers. Furthermore, the present invention is an ideal device for lifting heavy machinery to elevated points along tall structures. The inventive guide rail climbing lifting platform uses a hydraulic system to travel along guide rails that are attached to the side of a structure. The guide rails can either be an integral part of the structure or they can be attached to a structure using a retro-fitting process. The rails transfer the weight of the lifting platform and the payload directly to the base platform. The vertical load is not placed on the tower.
This guide rail climbing lifting platform allows more economical and efficient repairs to be made to existing towers due to the present invention""s efficient design. The guide rail climbing lifting platform is a far less expensive option than using a comparable large industrial crane of similar lifting capabilities (measured in terms of the height to which an object can be lifted and in terms of the amount of weight that can be lifted).
Furthermore, the present invention is ideally suited for the construction and repair work that must be performed in wind turbine farms. The guide rail climbing lifting platform does not require large amounts of operational space proximate to the base of the tower. Furthermore, the guide rail climbing lifting platform can be transported along much smaller roads than large industrial cranes are capable of using.
Accordingly, the guide rail climbing lifting platform of the present invention provides both a convenient and economical way for erecting towers in a modular fashion and provides an economical way for lifting heavy machinery to points along a vertical structure.